Cheech Marin

Member, Board of Directors, Hispanic Scholarship Fund

Actor, Director, Writer, Humanitarian and Chicano Art Advocate

Primarily known as an actor, a director, and a performer, Cheech Marin has developed what is arguably the finest private collection of Chicano art. Much of it formed the core of his traveling exhibition Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge, which broke attendance records during its groundbreaking 15‐city tour during 2001‐2007 to major art museums across the United States. He states, “Chicano art is American art. My goal is to bring the term ‘Chicano’ to the forefront of the art world.” This focus is what led to his touring exhibitions, The Chicano Collection/La Colección Chicana: Fine Art Prints by Modern Multiples and Papel Chicano: Works on Paper from the Collection of Cheech Marin. He has also produced exhibitions for LACMA (Angelenos/Chicano Painters of L.A.) and the Art Museum of South Texas in Corpus Christi (Menudo: Chicano Art from the Cheech Marin Collection). His exhibition, Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection, began its national tour in 2011 and is booked at venues in the U.S. and Europe through 2015.

A third‐generation Mexican American, Cheech has received numerous awards for his work on behalf of Latinos, including the 2000 Creative Achievement Award from the Imagen Foundation and the 1999 ALMA Community Service Award from the National Council of La Raza and Kraft Foods. In 2007, he received an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts for his contributions to the creative arts from Otis College of Art & Design in Los Angeles, and received the inaugural Legacy Award for Arts Advocacy from the Smithsonian Latino Center. He serves on the boards of the Smithsonian Latino Center and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.

As an actor, Cheech is familiar to many as one‐half of the hilarious duo Cheech and Chong; together, they made eight feature films. He has since appeared in more than 20 films, including The Perfect Game, Spy Kids, Tin Cup, and Once Upon A Time In Mexico. Television credits include co‐starring with Don Johnson in CBS drama Nash Bridges, a recurring role on the hit series Lost, and a guest appearance on Grey’s Anatomy. His latest films include The Perfect Game (Lions Gate Entertainment); Beverly Hills Chihuahua and Race to Witch Mountain (Walt Disney Pictures); and The Miracle of Dommatina (Hallmark Channel). In addition, in 2005, Cheech directed the Broadway production of Latinologues, a collection of comedic and poignant monologues revealing the Latino experience in America.

Cheech is also an author. His children’s books include Cheech and the Spooky Ghost Bus (2009); Captain Cheech (2008), and Cheech the School Bus Driver (2007). His art books include Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection {size doesn’t matter} (2013), Papel Chicano: Works on Paper from the Cheech Marin Collection (2007), and Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge (2001).